LG may double down on Optimus G, literally

Company might be releasing an Optimus G and an Optimus G Nexus—maybe.

A few days ago, AT&T announced that the LG Optimus G was going to be sold exclusively on its network, but failed to mention in the press release or anywhere else when exactly it was slated to launch. Now, rumors are surfacing that LG will actually be joining Google at an event sometime in November to officially announced the LG Optimus G Nexus—most likely a different phone than the one announced a few days ago.

This would mean that the Optimus G Nexus is Google's flagship phone for Android 4.2. All Nexus devices have historically come with the latest iteration of Google's mobile operating system. After all, the whole point of Google's Nexus program is to announce the next Android operating system and offer a "pure Android" experience, where the devices come free of any third-party or carrier-enforced applications.

However viable the rumor of the event is, it's still a question as to what impact two Optimus G phones would have on the Android ecosystem. For starters, previous manufacturers of Google-branded phones, including Samsung and HTC, have dedicated handsets for their Nexus releases which aren't available in non-Nexus branding. With two Optimus Gs to choose from, users could decide between stock Android and AT&T's version, setting a precedent which could either further confuse customers or offer a helpful choice to owners who are being stung by today's fragmented update landscape.

Currently, if a user wants to update their device to the latest version of Android, they must check in first with their carrier and then with the manufacturer. Sometimes, carriers leave their users in the dust when it comes to updates; other times, it's the manufacturers who can't agree on updates. It can be frustrating for Android users, who shouldn't have to root their phones simply to keep their software up to date.

If it sells well, the LG Optimus G Nexus might demonstrate to OEMs that Android customers value the Nexus program's upgradeability and are willing to pay for it. Unfortunately, handset manufacturers may not actually be interested in any sort of universal software update mandate. As evidenced by the total failure of the Android Update Alliance, a program which was supposed to ensure that participating manufacturers' Android devices receive updates for at least 18 months after their launch, there just doesn't seem to be much interest in manufacturers spending time on older handsets. By making old phones useful for longer, users have less of an incentive to purchase newer models.

From what's been reported by the source, Android 4.2 is a relatively small update which should improve power management and offer a new version of the Google Play store, as well as some new features connected with the Nexus program. Whatever the truth, the fact of the matter is that Google and its partners should overhaul the update program and give its users more options for stock Android phones.

I vote Nexus G. Would be like the first Samsung Nexus being called Nexus S. Along with Galaxy Nexus II, original Nexus at reduced price (< $300), and Nexus 7, sounds like a pretty decent line-up. Whatever Google can do to get more people buying unlocked phones with pure Android is good.

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

This is such a stupid attitude. Are you suggesting Google should slow down development of Android just because carriers/manufacturers are dragging their feet? Screw that! Keep the updates rolling. If you want on that bandwagon, then get a Nexus or root your phone. Don't like it? Vote with your wallet and stop buying phones with vague upgrade plans.

I love the idea of more than 1 new phone at a time having nexus branding with stock android. If LG really does try releasing a nexus and an LG skinned version of the same phone, and if the nexus version sells as well or better, it could make a very positive wave for the future of android.

I would love to see Google keep the Galaxy Nexus in their Play store for a reduced price the same way Apple reduces the prices of their older model iPhones. It's already ridiculously low for an unlocked phone. I think it's $325 currently. I just haven't been able to pull the trigger on it at that price.

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

This is such a stupid attitude. Are you suggesting Google should slow down development of Android just because carriers/manufacturers are dragging their feet? Screw that! Keep the updates rolling. If you want on that bandwagon, then get a Nexus or root your phone. Don't like it? Vote with your wallet and stop buying phones with vague upgrade plans.

NO I want guarantee updates no matter what handset I buy. Android comes in many different sizes and price points and I should be allowed to choose any of these devices and get updates. Not even windows is this bad, at any given time there are probably no more than 2 versions of windows available with one the newest becoming dominant in a short amount of time. There has to be 4 or 5 versions of android now (2.3, 3.2, 4.0, 4.1 and potentially 4.2). This is ridiculous, Motorola can't even update their android line and THEY'RE OWN BY GOOGLE.

Android is becoming a joke, I've been using it since 1.5 and have stuck with it because there was no alternative but now I'm done.

Sorry that this post isn't technically related to the story and has the possibility of derailing the thread. Maybe the author should write an article on android's update debacle.

Its not like Google took over Motorola 10 years ago.

You don't like how updating goes on Android?BUY A NEXUS DEVICE!

Its THAT easy. Nexus devices don't even cost more than the other phones on the market.

I really don't get what all that whining is about. If you rather like TouchWiz than the vanilla launcher you buy Samsung but don't expect Samsung to be able (or to want) to keep it updated for all their trillion devices.

It is seriously doubtful that the next version will be 4.2 instead of 5.0. Since the inception of Android, Google has released a major version number every fall. The only exception was Honeycomb, which was originally announced for a fall release but suffered delays until spring.

While it is possible that Google would buck this trend if Key Lime Pie does not contain very many enhancements, I doubt that will occur. Mathias Duarte even confirmed last year that this will be their policy going forward.

I hope so. But on a side note why are Motorola phone not running stock Android?The only answer I can see is that some bad math is saying that Consumers do not want it. Solely based on sales with past Nexus phones.

But If I had to guess, based upon past Nexus launches, this phone will not be as good in specs as the original G. That was the case for the Galaxy Nexus. It just reminds me of windows computers and the major computer manufactures. They need their money from the bloatware

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

This is such a stupid attitude. Are you suggesting Google should slow down development of Android just because carriers/manufacturers are dragging their feet? Screw that! Keep the updates rolling. If you want on that bandwagon, then get a Nexus or root your phone. Don't like it? Vote with your wallet and stop buying phones with vague upgrade plans.

NO I want guarantee updates no matter what handset I buy. Android comes in many different sizes and price points and I should be allowed to choose any of these devices and get updates. Not even windows is this bad, at any given time there are probably no more than 2 versions of windows available with one the newest becoming dominant in a short amount of time. There has to be 4 or 5 versions of android now (2.3, 3.2, 4.0, 4.1 and potentially 4.2). This is ridiculous, Motorola can't even update their android line and THEY'RE OWN BY GOOGLE.

Android is becoming a joke, I've been using it since 1.5 and have stuck with it because there was no alternative but now I'm done.

Sorry that this post isn't technically related to the story and has the possibility of derailing the thread. Maybe the author should write an article on android's update debacle.

Windows 7 {launched July 22, 2009} only overtook windows XP {launched October 25, 2001} last month. Android launched only about 8 months before that {October 2008}, has come remarkably far {compared to windows} if you consider the majority of users are on 2.3 over 5 major revisions after 1.0.

That said I agree the update situation on android is a quite bad and a lot could be done to improve it...

I hope so. But on a side note why are Motorola phone not running stock Android?The only answer I can see is that some bad math is saying that Consumers do not want it. Solely based on sales with past Nexus phones.

I would guess that its because google is afraid of making other OEMs feel like they're competing directly against google, which could conceivably make them less inclined to continue pushing android products as alternatives like Windows phone 8 arrive.

However, if rumors of multiple manufacturers releasing a nexus branded phone at a time are true, this could very well ease fears of nexus branded motorola phones. I certainly hope so at least, I'm quite fond of moto's build quality and design (but would appreciate some better screens, we'll see how the razr maxx hd looks).

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

Can you explain to me the relentless desire to have the latest version of Android is? What else is the next version going to give you that you don't have? If your phone isn't ever good enough why even get one at all?

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

This is such a stupid attitude. Are you suggesting Google should slow down development of Android just because carriers/manufacturers are dragging their feet? Screw that! Keep the updates rolling. If you want on that bandwagon, then get a Nexus or root your phone. Don't like it? Vote with your wallet and stop buying phones with vague upgrade plans.

Or Google could address the issue for Android 5 by, say, disallowing OEMs from providing anything but the vanilla Android experience, whether the phone is Nexus branded or not, building a reasonable HAL so that they can push major updates without OEMs needing to invest in doing the ports themselves, and push the updates themselves direct to consumers via a Google Update mechanism. If Google fixes it by Android 5 they'll still have the issue fixed three major revision numbers faster than Microsoft.

Google should make android much more modular with a proper interface for modifications and branding, so manufacturers can quickly add their own things above google things and be able to make fast and cheap updates...

Definitely looking forward to multiple Nexus-branded phones coming out this year. As an AT&T customer, I was sorely disappointed to see that the Galaxy Nexus never ended up subsidized on a GSM network and I am hoping these new devices will change that.

Its THAT easy. Nexus devices don't even cost more than the other phones on the market.

I really don't get what all that whining is about. If you rather like TouchWiz than the vanilla launcher you buy Samsung but don't expect Samsung to be able (or to want) to keep it updated for all their trillion devices.

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

Can you explain to me the relentless desire to have the latest version of Android is? What else is the next version going to give you that you don't have? If your phone isn't ever good enough why even get one at all?

That's like asking someone who wants to use windows 7 why aren't they happy just using xp or an iOS4 user why on earth would they want to use iOS6. Each android update fixes security bugs and adds new features. My phone's manufacture still hasn't upgraded from 2.3 since then android 4.0 and 4.1 has been released which has added siri-like functionality, 60fps full hwa ui, browser improvements, awesome voice dictation functionality, google now, better notification system and the list goes on. My phone's spec is still above the minimum specs for jellybean but I'm not receiving a major update and have to resort to using some buggy build most likely built by some 13 year old boy on xda asking for donations.

Definitely looking forward to multiple Nexus-branded phones coming out this year. As an AT&T customer, I was sorely disappointed to see that the Galaxy Nexus never ended up subsidized on a GSM network and I am hoping these new devices will change that.

No need to wait for a subsidized Nexus. Buy an iPhone on contract and sell it, then get the unlocked Nexus. You get an unlocked phone and pretty much for free (you'd probably profit at least $350 buying and selling the iPhone). This is BETTER than buying it through AT&T subsidized.

The manufacturers don't seem to realize that some of us get pissed off when they don't support their phones for very long and lose future sales from us. I'm not getting another LG phone because of their horrible support of their previous ones. Even though a Nexus phone from LG would remove LG from the software equation, I still wouldn't buy it solely because I refuse to give their phone division any more money. I'm sure owners of the Motorola Atrix feel the same way.

Can anyone give me one good damn reason why every Android phone is not a "nexus" device? There's no hardware differences. No cost differences. All it seems to be doing is pissing off users that they cannot get timely updates to fix fundamentally broken phones like the Droid Bionic which can't hold a data connection for crap on the latest gingerbread build, yet it performs great on the leaked ice cream sandwich builds.

Less hardware choices would be absolutely fine with me if it meant we got better support.

Can anyone give me one good damn reason why every Android phone is not a "nexus" device?

The biggest reason is that it's difficult to differentiate yourself from a competitor if everything looks the same. Sure, the phone has some differences in specifications and styling, but adding a custom skin gives the phone a drastically different feel. OEM's may honestly feel that this gives them an advantage by providing different apps, a different look and feel, and a different experience out of the box.

I hope at least one of the next Nexus phones comes from some other company than LG. I had a Google Nexus One. I loved that phone. Made by HTC, it was very solid, had a great thin form factor, a clear camera, and decent battery life. I bypassed the Nexus phones after that one because they did not have a micro-sd slot. The Galaxy Nexus made by Samsung also has a plastic case and feels like a toy whereas the HTC-made Nexus One had a metal case with a rubberized coating and felt very solid.

After I bricked my Nexus One (d'oh!), I bought an LG phone. That phone is thicker than my Nexus One, is very sluggish despite having the same cpu as the Nexus One, has a poor back camera, and is still stuck with Gingerbread. I rooted it to get rid of some of the crapware, but I am stuck with a few crappy apps like the skinned web browser, although I now use Firefox for Android instead.

I would much rather buy a new Nexus phone with a micro-sd slot either from HTC or Samsung. If the next Nexus phone is only made by LG, then I will pass on that one too.

It took the Nexus S four or five months to get the ICS update. It took Verizon Galaxy Nexus users a similar amount of time to get Jelly Bean. So I'm a bit skeptical.

I'm probably done with the Nexus line, though it's not because of that. 4.3" phones are pretty much my limit (in reality it's the phone's width that matters, but it generally works out to 4.3" screen size), and if the multiple Nexus phones rumor comes true it's likely they'll all be between 4.7" and 5". Oh well. They don't have to cater to me and I don't have to buy their stuff.

What I would really love to see (but will probably never happen) is hardware standardization in the phone/tablet market similar to PCs. One version of Ubuntu (or Windows) for x86-64 can install and run on any x86-64 PC. I suspect that the hardware manufacturers don't want this because it essentially makes the hardware a generic commodity, differentiated only by specs that make an average person's eyes glaze over. There's no need for a custom OS version for each model of PC, and the same should be true of phones and tablets. The user should be able to install any OS (and upgrade to any version of the OS) on any device.

The phone looks nice but I would be absolutely disgusted if Google announced android 4.2 when 4.1 isn't even on 10% of phones. If 4.2 is announced next month I'm just going to switch to windows phone even though there's less apps for it. I'm tired of relying on weekend hobbyist to provide updates for my phone.

This is such a stupid attitude. Are you suggesting Google should slow down development of Android just because carriers/manufacturers are dragging their feet? Screw that! Keep the updates rolling. If you want on that bandwagon, then get a Nexus or root your phone. Don't like it? Vote with your wallet and stop buying phones with vague upgrade plans.

NO I want guarantee updates no matter what handset I buy. Android comes in many different sizes and price points and I should be allowed to choose any of these devices and get updates. Not even windows is this bad, at any given time there are probably no more than 2 versions of windows available with one the newest becoming dominant in a short amount of time. There has to be 4 or 5 versions of android now (2.3, 3.2, 4.0, 4.1 and potentially 4.2). This is ridiculous, Motorola can't even update their android line and THEY'RE OWN BY GOOGLE.

Android is becoming a joke, I've been using it since 1.5 and have stuck with it because there was no alternative but now I'm done.

Sorry that this post isn't technically related to the story and has the possibility of derailing the thread. Maybe the author should write an article on android's update debacle.

Its not like Google took over Motorola 10 years ago.

You don't like how updating goes on Android?BUY A NEXUS DEVICE!

Its THAT easy. Nexus devices don't even cost more than the other phones on the market.

I really don't get what all that whining is about. If you rather like TouchWiz than the vanilla launcher you buy Samsung but don't expect Samsung to be able (or to want) to keep it updated for all their trillion devices.

To be fair the current state of android fragmentation hurts ALL android users. Not just the ones stuck on Gingerbread.

I have a Galaxy Nexus. Purchased from the Play store. It is an amazing phone even with the hardware limitations and not having to root it and rom it (which I did with my old mytouch 4g) has been great.

BUT when 4.2 comes out will I be updating right away? No. I'll be waiting at least a little bit a) to make sure there aren't show stopper bugs and b) to pray that the apps I rely on are updated to 4.2 compatibility. Developers have much less incentive upgrading their apps for the latest OS if it remains only on < 5% of phones for like 6 months...So when people say Google should just keep upgrading away and screw the carriers/OEMs I say that is stupid. Google wants to build an Android ecosystem not just one phone and that means they have to worry about everyone being left behind when they move too fast with software upgrades. Doing a point release to 4.2 and still calling it Jelly Bean (even if it is for purely psychological reasons) is a wise decision. Google is probably very aware that soon they will be the only major software player without deep integration to a popular desktop operating system (windows 8, iOS/OSX). That is going to be a disadvantage moving forward and Google needs to strengthen the whole ecosystem before that happens.

Florence Ion / Florence was a former Reviews Editor at Ars, with a focus on Android, gadgets, and essential gear. She received a degree in journalism from San Francisco State University and lives in the Bay Area.